


Naming Day

by ottermo



Series: As Prompted [93]
Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23241565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: Mattie and Leo have an announcement to make. They’re especially excited for Niska’s reaction.
Relationships: Elster Family/Hawkins Family, Mattie Hawkins & Leo Elster, Niska Elster & Turbo Baby
Series: As Prompted [93]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/360089
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Naming Day

The baby is covered with a soft yellow blanket, one of the many Flash had produced as a celebration of having her hands back under control. Niska looks down at the new arrival, and nods to herself. Good. The child looks healthy. She reaches down to lift one tiny hand, checking that all the fingers are present and correct. Immediately her own finger is taken captive, the baby’s fist closing like a vice. Again, good. That’s a healthy grip. She doesn’t pull away.

From the bed, Mattie watches her with amusement. “Getting acquainted, Aunty Niska?”

Niska looks up at her. “We’re not doing that.”

“Hmm, I think we are, but talking’s a little way off yet, even for Turbo-Baby.”

“Turbo-Baby?” Mia echoes from the foot of the bed.

Mattie grins. “I forget you haven’t been here. Well, before we had a name, we had to use something, and Niska would keep going on about synthetic hybrid DNA and all that…”

“So there is a name now?” Max asks, intrigued. “I thought you were still arguing about it.”

Leo and Mattie share a glance.

“Argue?” says Leo sweetly. “Us?”

“Constantly,” says Sophie with a frown. “But go on. Tell us her name. Who won?”

“It’s not about winning, Sophie…” Mattie says, in the pious older-sister tone she’s been prepping for the upgrade to pious mother tone. “And we are going to tell you, but Dad and Toby are running late.”

“You can text them it,” says Sophie. “Come on.”

Leo grins. “Up to you, Mattie, but as far as I’m concerned, Niska’s the one whose face I really wanted to see.”

Niska gives him a Look and disengages the baby’s grip on her finger.

“You’re naming her after Niska?” Sophie says, brightening. “That’s cool. Much more badass than _Hope_.”

“No, Soph. Alright. Let’s do this.”

The new parents grin at each other. Everyone else waits, filling the spectrum between excited curiosity and thinly-veiled irritation.

Leo lifts the baby carefully from the incubator and sets the bundle down in Mattie’s arms.

“Everyone,” says Mattie grandly, “Meet Thomas.”

This news is met by a few slow synth-blinks and a small surprised sound from Sophie, who now seems even more impressed.

“Cool! There’s a girl in my class called Michael. Like in Star Trek. Names should be genderless, that’s what Mrs Kilburn says, I’m definitely calling my kid Sophie even if…”

Mattie giggles. “Sophie, stop for one second.” She puts her finger on her lips and nods her sister’s attention away from the baby and over to Niska, who is on her third or perhaps fourth blink of acclimation.

“A boy,” says Niska eventually.

“Yes,” says Leo.

“I mean, adhering strictly to the gender binary, for now,” Mattie amends. “You could still get your way at some point in the future, I suppose, Nis, but until we hear otherwise…”

“Until we hear otherwise, you took a fifty-fifty guess and got it wrong,” Leo crows. “The Violet Queen is fallible after all.”

“Don’t call me that,” says Niska, although she doesn’t sound quite as cutting as she might. Shrugging loose all pretence at dignity, she adds, “I’d even prefer Aunty Niska.”

Mattie chuckles, and looks down at her son. “You see, I knew she’d come round.” She nods to where her phone is buzzing away on a nearby table. “Somebody get that?”

“It’s Dad,” says Sophie, picking it up. “Dad? You’ll NEVER guess.” She pauses. “No. But Dad, the baby’s a _boy_.”

She rolls her eyes and sets the phone aside. “He says his grandchild is ginger and that’s what matters.”

Amid the laughter, Mia leans forwards. “How will you tell Laura, Mattie?”

Mattie’s smile takes on a mischievous element of guilt. “We already called her. I didn’t want to spring the ‘Tom’ thing on her in case she hated it.”

Mia smiles back. “It’s a nice gesture. Have you decided on any other names? Tom Hawkins, Tom Elster…?”

“Hawkins,” says Leo quickly. Mattie glances at him, surprised.

“That name can die with me,” he adds. “It doesn’t stand for anything good.”

“You could just be a Hawkins too, you know,” says Mattie airily.

“Is that a proposal?” he asks, arching an eyebrow.

“If you want it to be. I _propose_ that all of you take ‘Hawkins’, actually, though, if you don’t want Elster. Well, all except Her Royal Highness the Violet Queen Aunty Niska Schaeffer.”

If looks could kill, Thomas would be an orphan by now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Elise for the name idea! <3


End file.
